Garment hanger



Dec. 23, 1969 I A. E. WAG/s}; ET AL 3,485,423

mmnuw a mnn Filed Aug. 28, 196B INVENTORS ALBERT E. WAGAR RONALD F. ROLFE United State Pawn O.

3,485,423 GARMENT HANGER Albert E. Wagar, Albany, and Ronald F. Rolfe, Schoharie, N.Y., assignors to Cluett, Peabody =& Co., Inc., Troy, N.Y., a corporation of New York a Filed Aug. 28, 1968, Ser. No. 755,973 Int. Cl. A47j 51/093 US. Cl. 223-85 2 Claims ABSTRACT on THE DISCLOSURE? This invention relates generally to new and useful improvements in garment hangers and particularly seeks to provide a novel garment hanger that may be readily inserted into or removed from a shirt or other garment which is buttoned or otherwise fastened at the neck. l

Garment hangers of the type with which this invention is concerned are necessary adjuncts to thefinal manufacturing steps for shirts or other garments having buttoned collars in which the individual garments are separately supported on hangers as an incident preparatory to the folding and pinning thereof. At this stage the shirts have already been pressed, a paperboard insert has been positionedbetween the neckband and the cape, the neckband, shirt front and culls have been buttoned, and the shirt is ready to be hung upon a rack or hanger bar for transportation to a folding station for further processing.

Since the neckband is already buttoned there is insufficient clearance for the insertion of a so-called standard, generally triangular, wire hanger and it is necessary to use a hanger that is laterally relieved at one side to re ceive the neckband as the hanger is being inserted.

One form of wire hanger that heretofore has been used for this purpose has a generally triangular body portion with a lateral throat paralleling one arm and defined by welded overlapping portions terminating in a vertically extending hook. This type of hanger not only requires an excess of wire but also requires a welding or brazing operation that adds to the cost of manufacture.

Another form of wire hanger that also has been used for this purpose is constructed from a generally triangular body to which a separate thrat-defining hook elementis welded. Here again increased manufacturing costs are incurred because of the two piece construction and the necessity for a welding or brazing operation.

A garment hanger constructed in accordance with this invention overcomes the problems encountered with prior known types of hangers for this purpose. Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a novel one piece garment hanger especially adapted to be inserted into and support a shirt or other garment having a buttoned or otherwise fastened neckband.

Another object of this invention is to provide a garment hanger of the character stated that is formed from a Patented Dec. 23, 1969 single length of heavy gauge wire that is bent to define an upstanding hook portion, a first slanting lateral yokesupporting portion, a reverse bend intermediate portion which together with the first slanting yoke-supporting por tion defines a lateral throat, and a second slanting lateral yoke-supporting portion symmetrically opposed to the first lateral yoke-supporting portion. 1

Another object of this invention is to provide a garment hanger of the character stated that is simple in design,

rugged in construction and economical to manufacture.

Drawing With these and other objects the nature of which will be apparent, the invention will be more fully understood by reference to the drawing, the accompanying detailed description and the appended claims. The sole figure in the drawing is a front elevation of a garment hanger constructed in accordance with this invention.

Preferred embodiment Referring to the drawing in detail it will be seen that the garment hanger is formed from a single length of heavy wire (preferably No. 5 gauge or heavier) and includes an upstanding open hook 5 of uniform radius and a downwardly slanting shank portion 6 terminating in a first slanting lateral yoke-supporting portion 7. The wire is then reverse bent as at 8 to a short horizontal portion 9 and an upwardly slanting intermediate portion 10 that is generally parallel to the yoke-supporting portion 7. The portions 7-10 collectively define a lateral throat 11 that is adapted to receive the neckband of a shirt collar as the hanger is being inserted into a shirt. From the slanting portion 10 the wire is bent downwardly to form a second slanting lateral yoke-supporting portion 12, that is symmetrically opposed to the first yoke-supporting portion 7 and terminates in a generally circular eye 13 at its free end. The hook and throat openings face in opposite directions.

Although the dimensions and angles of the various portions of the hanger will be determined. primarily by the type and size of garment to be supported, it might be mentioned that for a typical shiit hanger its span should be on the order of 16", the throat 11 should have an entrance width of approximately 1%" and the yoke-supporting portions 7 and 12 should slant downwardly at an angle of approximately 14 from the horizontal.

In use the hanger is preferably held by the operator with the opening of the hook 5 facing away. The free end 12 is then inserted into the neckband opening of the shirt and the entire hanger moved so that the throat 11 spans a portion of the neckband and the closed end 8 can drop into the neckband opening, after which the direction of movement of the hanger is reversed until the shirt yokes on both sides of the collar are properly supported by the slanting portions 7 and 12.

We claim:

1. A garment hanger formed from a single length of heavy gauge wire having an upstanding hook portion, a shank depending from said hook and terminating in a first slanting lateral yoke-supporting portion, said first yokesupporting portion including a reversely bent portion having a horizontally extending portion, an intermediate outwardly and upwardly extending portion spaced parallel to said first slanting portion, and a terminal second slanting 3 4 lateral yoke-supporting portion symmetrically opposed to References Cited said first slanting portion, said horizontally extending por- UNITED STATES PATENTS tion and a major portion of said intermediate portion being disposed beneath said hook and first slanting portion D. 200,942 4/1965 Goldin D80-8 defining a lateral throat of sufficient Width to accept the 5 2,412,735 12/1946 Isaak 22388 neckband of a garment as said hanger is inserted towards 2,499,538 3/1950 Stanton 22388 its garment-supporting position.

2. The garment hanger of claim 1 in which the open- MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner ings of said hook and said throat face in opposite direc- GEORGE H KRIZMANICH Assistant Examiner tions 

